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    How To Calculate Force

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    John Malones
    Force is a concept in physics that is quantified as newtons and describes anything that can cause an object to change its motion. The standard equation for calculating force is F=ma, where F is force in newtons, m is mass in kilograms, and a is acceleration in meters per second squared. For example, a compact car with a mass of 1000kg accelerating north at 5m/s2 would experience a force of 5000 newtons. If the car maintains a constant velocity, there is no net external force acting on it.

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    How To Calculate Force

    Uploaded by

    John Malones
    185 views3 pages
    Force is a concept in physics that is quantified as newtons and describes anything that can cause an object to change its motion. The standard equation for calculating force is F=ma, where F is force in newtons, m is mass in kilograms, and a is acceleration in meters per second squared. For example, a compact car with a mass of 1000kg accelerating north at 5m/s2 would experience a force of 5000 newtons. If the car maintains a constant velocity, there is no net external force acting on it.

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    How to Calculate Force

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    How to Calculate Force

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    Force is a concept in physics that is quantified as newtons and describes anything that can cause an object to change its motion. The standard equation for calculating force is F=ma, where F is force in newtons, m is mass in kilograms, and a is acceleration in meters per second squared. For example, a compact car with a mass of 1000kg accelerating north at 5m/s2 would experience a force of 5000 newtons. If the car maintains a constant velocity, there is no net external force acting on it.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    185 views3 pages

    How To Calculate Force

    Uploaded by

    John Malones
    Force is a concept in physics that is quantified as newtons and describes anything that can cause an object to change its motion. The standard equation for calculating force is F=ma, where F is force in newtons, m is mass in kilograms, and a is acceleration in meters per second squared. For example, a compact car with a mass of 1000kg accelerating north at 5m/s2 would experience a force of 5000 newtons. If the car maintains a constant velocity, there is no net external force acting on it.

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    How to Calculate Force

    The word force appears in practically every imaginable aspect of daily life, from
    sports to weather to military conflicts. But fundamentally, force is a concept
    rooted in physics, where is has a very specific and critical meaning. The standard
    unit of force is the newton (N), equal to kg ⋅ m/s2.

    Force is one of two quantities of physics that affect the motion of an object, the
    other being mass. The description of the motion of objects in space is called
    kinematics, which takes into account position, velocity and acceleration; including
    force and mass in the study of motion introduces the concept of dynamics.

    Newton's Laws of Motion


    Before learning about specific forces and how to do calculations involving this
    quantity, it is helpful to review the three basic laws of motion conceived by Isaac
    Newton:

    1. Every object in a state of constant motion (including rest) will remain in that

    state unless acted on by external force.


    2. Force is the product of mass and acceleration.
    3. For every force, there exists a force opposite in direction and equal in
    magnitude.

    Newton's second law is the one of greatest interest if you want to calculate force,
    or determine mass or acceleration if given information about the force and one of
    the other two quantities. Acceleration is a change in velocity.

    Examples of Forces
    You can think of a force as something that pushes or pulls; while helpful as a
    metaphor, however, this does not do much to advance your real-world
    understanding. Instead, a list that shows the range of natural forces is a better tool
    for becoming familiar with the forces you will use in your physics calculations.
    Examples of Forces
    You can think of a force as something that pushes or pulls; while helpful as a
    metaphor, however, this does not do much to advance your real-world
    understanding. Instead, a list that shows the range of natural forces is a better tool
    for becoming familiar with the forces you will use in your physics calculations.

    Weight is a mysterious force that acts on all objects with mass and results from
    gravity, which at Earth's surface has a value of 9.8 meters per second squared (9.8
    m/s2). Tension, elasticity, friction and the so-called normal force are forces that act
    on solids; buoyancy, lift, thrust and drag are forces uniquely associated with fluids
    (liquids and gases).

    The electrostatic and magnetic forces are associated with charged particles. Also,
    nature includes four fundamental forces that give rise to all other forces. One of
    these is gravity, which is by far the weakest fundamental force; the others are
    electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear interactions in atoms.

    The Force Equation


    The standard form of the force formula across physics states that the net external
    force on an object is the product of its mass and its acceleration:

    F = ma

    Here, force and acceleration are vector quantities, meaning that they have both a
    value (magnitude, represented by a number) and a direction in space associated
    with them. Mass is a scalar quantity, meaning it is described fully in terms of its
    magnitude.
    Calculating Force Example
    A compact car with a mass of 1,000 kg is accelerating due north at 5 m/s2. What is
    the force produced by this acceleration?

    F = (1,000 kg)(5 m/s2) = 5,000 N.

    The car eventually reaches a velocity of 40 m/s (about 90 miles per hour) and
    levels off at this speed. What is the external force on the car now?

    This is a trick question of sorts. While a speeding car has plenty of momentum, if
    the car is not experiencing acceleration, both sides of the force equation are zero,
    and there is no net external force acting on the system, in this case consisting
    solely of the car. The physical quantity of greatest interest here, momentum, is the
    product of mass and velocity v (compare this to the force equation).

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